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Adventures of a Practical Idealist

HOMEMADE “SODAS” FOR SUMMER

Lately, I have been getting a bit bored with the beverage options. I am not really a soda pop drinker, although I do like a sip or two with a burger or Mexican food. I am generally considered to be addicted to iced tea. I drink several glasses a day, 365 days a year. I am seriously addicted. I once told my spouse that if I was in a car crash and they had to cut off my arm and give me a bionic arm, I wanted one with a built in cup holder and PDA. That is all I would need to get by. Of course the bionic arm would be able to crush all the bad guys and stuff, but most of the time it would be used to hold my iced tea cup. And speed dial my peeps and all that. You know, bionic arm stuff.

Anyway, I have been getting bored with just iced tea. I have been making a slew of simple syrups for a while now to be used as a replacement for the raw sugar I usually use to sweeten my tea. I really love basil simple syrup with black tea. I have also discovered that ginger is delish as well. One day, not too long ago, my sister sent me home with several stalks of rhubarb. I like rhubarb. My husband HATES rhubarb. Just the sight of it in the fridge sent him into a tirade about it. And when he gets worked up, the troops follow and insist that, they too, hate rhubarb (even though I am certain none of them have ever tasted it).

So I had this rhubarb and was scheming on things to make that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t realize had the rhubarb in them. Then it occurred to me that he would realize (even if eventually) and I would be stuck eating the stuff all by myself. So if I was going to have to eat it all by myself, what could I make that wouldn’t be so huge that I wouldn’t feel guilty for either 1) haven eaten all of it or 2) having to throw half of it away. Then it occurred to me: simple syrup. Not to be used in my tea, as I had been, but as a base for homemade soda. So I took these 3 stalks and roughly chopped them, added them to a pot with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar and boiled it until the rhubarb was broken down and mushy. I removed it from the heat and let it steep for another 30 minutes and then drained into a jar. Once cooled, I poured about 1/4 cup of the syrup into a glass and served it over ice with club soda. It was fantastic! Besides, who doesn’t like pink soda?!

I have since used my ginger syrup as a base for ginger ale and I also made a lemon-lime syrup as a version of 7-Up. The kids loved it! This has been fun. I may play around a bit more and see what else works and is popular with the crowds.

For the record, I liked this; and I don’t ever remember you insisting you’d want a bionic arm with a cup holder. All I remember is you saying that if your arm was cut off and you died as a result that I should go on and marry someone half my age, as you just wanted me to be happy.

Also for the record, I got the “troops follow” idea from watching you do it – to perfection. Don’t want me to do it, don’t do it yourself! ;P